The privatization of public companies that operate in strategic sectors represents risks for the Brazilian people and for the country’s sovereignty, assessed President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, this Tuesday (27), during a visit to the Telebras Main Space Operations Center (Cope-P). 
“There are things that must inevitably be handled by the State. This is the case in Germany, France and the United States. Many people in this country were led by the famous theory that the market must be opened to everyone; that the important thing is free access to trade. But free access to trade is when it is to sell their products here. When it is for us to sell abroad what we produce here, we know how difficult it is,” argued the president.
At the beginning of his third term, in 2023, Lula removed Telebras from the group of state-owned companies that would be privatized by Jair Bolsonaro’s government.
For Lula, Telebras plays a fundamental role in preventing the misuse of Artificial Intelligence and data from the Brazilian population.
“So tell me: how can a country that manages to have a company of this quality decide to privatize it? Who are we going to donate it to? Who would keep the information that the State has, and that only the State should have? It is information about the Brazilian people, from health to education,” he added.
“We will make this a company that serves Brazilians; our sovereignty; our technological knowledge; our artificial intelligence and our database. In short, we will serve the Brazilian people. My presence here is to reinforce this idea,” said Lula.
According to the president, many authorities and governments lacked pride in being Brazilian, to think a little about what the State can offer for the well-being and sovereignty of society.
“A company like this one is a guarantee that we can discuss artificial intelligence without having to be subordinate to just two or three nations that are already ahead,” said the president.
